Specializations• Chinese political economy
• East Asian political economy
• International political economy
• Comparative political economy and politics

John Tian's research and publications cover a broad range, including the political economy of economic interactions across the Taiwan Strait, China’s regional development policies, the emerging new politics of inequality in China, and China’s integration with the world economy and the potential impact on Chinese economy and society, especially on Chinese agriculture and rural institutions of governance.

Reflecting his wide-range research interests, Professor Tian has published a book Government, Business, and the Politics of Interdependence and Conflict across the Taiwan Strait, (Palgrave-Macmillan), several peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of Contemporary China, Canadian Journal of Development Studies and Issues & Studies and book chapters. He has also presented numerous scholarly papers at international, national and regional conferences.